1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to hose reel systems, and more particularly to a hose reel system in which there is horizontal and vertical displacement of the hose during payout and retrieval thereof.
2. Description of the Prior Art
The present invention is particularly applicable to sewer and catch basin cleaner systems which utilize a high pressure hose which is inserted into sewer laterals for dislodging debris and having a large diameter suction hose for removing the debris from a catch basin. U.S. Pat. No. 4,134,174 to Flynn et al provides a description of a typical sewer and catch basin cleaner in the prior art. A truck is provided with a water tank and a water pump. The tank has an outlet into a hose reel mounted to the truck and hose. The water hose is supported by a boom to allow the hose to be unreeled from the reel. The hose is inserted into a sewer manhole and into the laterals which require cleaning. Also on the truck is a tank having a large diameter vacuum hose attached thereto with the vacuum hose also supported by the boom. As debris is flushed from the laterals into a catch basin, the vacuum hose draws the debris into the tank. The Flynn system is satisfactory as long as the truck is aligned with the direction of payout and retrieval of the water hose. A cleaning apparatus mounted on a truck and having the suction hose mounted to a boom which can swivel horizontally and can be raised vertically is disclosed in the patent to Fisco, Jr., U.S. Pat. No. 4,199,837. In this device, the hose is mounted on a reel attached to the front of the truck which must be placed over the manhole to payout and retrieve the hose. Wurster, U.S. Pat. No. 4,322,868 teaches a truck having a rotatable boom which can be elevated which carries both the vacuum hose and the water hose. No details are shown for handling the reeling in and out of the water hose.
Since the water hose is often required to have a length of several hundred feet, it is essential that the cleaning system include a reel for the water hose which will permit the desired length to be available. For this size reel, it is desirable to rigidly mount the reel in a fixed orientation to the truck body. It is also desirable to utilize a boom which can be rotated almost 360 degrees to eliminate the requirement for exact placement of the truck relative to the manhole or the basin to be cleaned. It is also necessary or desirable for the water hose to be carried by the boom such that the vacuum hose and the water hose can be in close proximity. As will be understood in this arrangement, if the boom is rotated at an angle to the alignment of the water hose reel, none of the systems shown in the above noted references would permit the hose to be reeled out and retrieved since sharp bends would occur therein. This is particularly serious when the boom is rotated 180 degrees from alignment with the hose reel. The known reel systems also provide a reversible drive motor attached to the reel which requires that the motive power for both payout and retrieval be supplied from such drive. As will be seen, when sharp bends are produced in the water hose due to movement of the boom, the payout must be accomplished by pushing the free end of the hose which has proven unsatisfactory. Thus, there is a need for a hose reel system in which the hose can be quickly and easily payed-out and retrieved without regard to the angle between the hose direction and the plane of the hose reel.